Airway resuscitation packs for nurses: a recommendation for their withdrawal

Approximately one third of our hospitals appear to issue airway resuscitation packs (ARPs) to nurses responsible for the care of postanaesthetic and comatose patients. These packs contain instruments intended for use in overcoming airway obstruction. One hundred and eight nurses replied to a questionnaire designed to identify their knowledge of the instruments. The results indicate that nurses entrusted with ARPs were almost totally unfamiliar with the instruments and their application. The authors recommend the universal withdrawal of ARPs and suggest that nurses and doctors are taught to recognise airway obstruction and to manage it with simple manoeuvres not involving instrumentation.